Gel-hydrothermal synthesis of carbon and boron co-doped TiO2 and evaluating its photocatalytic activity.

Carbon and boron co-doped TiO(2) photocatalysts were prepared firstly by the gel-hydrothermal method, that is, synthesized through sol-gel process followed by hydrothermal in the glucose solution. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, Raman spectra, TEM, N(2) physical adsorption, XPS, and UV-vis absorption spectra. It was found that the co-doped TiO(2) has a larger BET surface areas and a narrower band gap than undoped TiO(2). The experimental results show that the coke carbon generated on the carbon doped TiO(2) surface act as a photosensitizer and has the photosensitization effect under the visible light. Except for carbon sensitization effect, the boron and carbon co-doped TiO(2) has synergistic effect which is responsible for effective photo-degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol in the visible light irradiation.